The Interview Wrapup.

I had my interview yesterday morning. It was a blast.

Ellen called me around 10am to make sure that I was available and could talk to Jad and Robert. They were in the studio waiting to talk to me. (And just knowing that, that those guys were at their consoles, with their mic's ready to spend a little time with me, was a thrill.) I sequestered myself backstage for one of our theaters and locked the door, which decreased the chances that I would be interrupted by another staff member. Ellen patched the guys through to me and the interview began.

It was a surreal experience. I am so used to hearing Jad and Robert's voices that THAT wasn't a particular shock. But I've never heard them speak directly to me, before and respond to the things that I would say. That was surreal. (Imagine that you are a "Daily Show" fan and you've heard Jon Stewart's voice multiple times and then, without much prelude, he's one the phone with you, interested in talking to you about the singular experience of being you. Part of you would step back and think, "This is different. Is this really happening?")

Jad and Robert were gracious interviewers. They both greeted me warmly and Jad explained to me briefly what they were going to talk to me about. He guided me through the story that I'd written to them a few months ago and I told it to them on the phone. There were these brief periods where Jad would say, "Tell us what the park was like. Can you describe that to us?" and I would and in my mind, I was thinking, "Be descriptive. This is radio. The listener only has your words and the sounds that they lay over them, to experience the place where this event occurred." And because I'm not used to thinking that way, all I could come up with was, "I remember a lot of dogs. It was a sunny day and people were walking their dogs and we were constantly mobbed by dogs." Pity the poor sound engineer who has to sit through CD's of dog sfx to overlay our story and thinks, "Dogs? Seriously man? That's all you've got? Dogs?!?

I knew from talking to Ellen that this was going to be primarily used as a fund-raising tool for the coming year. As you probably know, Public Radio is always under-siege financially. And each individual show does it's best to help with the fund-raising. My story (and the three other shows that centered around the theme of RadioLab in people's everyday lives) were all a part of that project. So, I had no trouble speaking effusively about what I really feel is the actual value of RadioLab for their listeners. At one point, Jad asked me if I wouldn't say something about what RadioLab is worth to me and honestly, I could've done a dissertation on the subject. Beyond it's value as a building block for my relationship with Lisa, it was a educational tool for me. I learned things from RadioLab that I have retained and actually used in my daily life.

These are just some of the things that I've learned from listening to RadioLab...

I've learned about the human effort to understand and quantify time.

I've developed and appreciation for Wagner's "The Ring Cycle."

I've learned about the basic building blocks of memory and how flexible and impermenant memory can be.

I've heard amazing stories about Love being broadcast out into the endless void of space, a person's history recovered from the side of the road and a man who got sick, lost his memory, but held onto his love and appreciation for his wife and for the music that he conducted.

So, I had no trouble talking about what RadioLab meant to me.
And I had no trouble talking about the "value" of RadioLab. Which was a natural seque into what Jad and Robert wanted to talk about. Which was why people should support RadioLab and Public Radio. Jad would take my lead and then go into that discussion and I would hang back and if they circled back to me, I would echo what they were saying, in complete agreement. Because I DO believe in supporting the things that you value.

I made them laugh a few times. And they made me laugh too. We touched upon my own story and the things from my story that anybody would have to deal with (losing a relationship) and we even took a few playful jabs at Ira Glass. (Hopefully, if he ever hears it, he'll enjoy a nice laugh with us. It was all out of love.)

At the end of the interview, they thanked me for my time and my story and I thanked them for such a wonderful experience. I ended the call by telling them that if they EVER were in Chicago, for any reason, that they were to call me or email me and let me know. That I'd like to get dinner with them or take them to a show, introduce them to my own theater or to the comedy-improv scene. I think that they would both appreciate some of the more sublime theater in the city. Shows like "Too Much Light" and "The TJ and Dave Show" and things like that. I would be thrilled if they actually took me up on the offer.

File this away under "Another One Of Those Really Random, Really Wonderful Experiences That I Could Not Have Seen Coming."

Also, Ellen, the really wonderful producer that set this whole thing up, has promised me to burn me a CD of the piece when it's finished and it might possibly be offered as a supplemental podcast to subscribers. Part of me wishes that I was smarter about this and had said nothing about it and then just surprised my few friends who actively listen to RadioLab. I would've enjoyed getting those excited, surprised phone calls of "Holy Crap! We just heard you on RadioLab!!!" That would've been fun.

Oh well, I can't deny you, Electronic Blog. I tell you everything!

Cheers,
Mr.B


Robert and Jad, the two nice guys who interviewed me yesterday.